Of course not having the original movies matters. Yes, people who frequent this forum, or others who are willing to plumb the depths of online file distribution, can watch good approximations of them any time they want now. But the general public is still not able to go to a store and buy them, as they should be able to do, so for all intents and purposes they do not exist. And yet in spite of this unacceptable state of affairs, Disney shows a great willingness to keep producing endless amounts of new content with the ‘Star Wars’ name attached to it. The true versions of the films that started it all are nowhere to be found, but they cynically exploit the name in order to keep churning out new films to form a perpetual revenue stream for themselves. That none of these new films are particularly good just makes it that much more galling.
The movies that got us all hooked on the galaxy far, far away have essentially died as far as official policy is concerned - that is my point. Disney has the power to resurrect them, but they are either unwilling to do so, or just can’t be bothered. Star Wars should have been allowed to die in peace, to just exist for what it was without having to be continually revisited. And yet the commercial exploitation continues and shows no sign of ever stopping. George Lucas, for all his infuriating stubbornness, at least had personal and artistic reasons for doing what he did, misguided though it was. Disney, on the other hand, doesn’t care about anything except money. So when I say Star Wars is a zombie franchise, I am perfectly sincere in my use of the metaphor.
I don’t sit around fuming about it (though for a few days per year I may get pretty annoyed); note that this is the practically the first time I even bothered to post anything on the subject since TFA came out. But I’m under no obligation at all to consider any of what they do to be significant. Unlike producing entirely new works, a long stream of sequels tends to become decreasingly relevant in comparison to the ones that started it. I also do not like having alternate interpretations of characters or events foisted on me years after the fact. And so, because it is clear that what Star Wars means to me has little in common with what matters to those in charge of it, I have checked myself out of any involvement with the new material other than passive disinterest.
@Catbus: I would eliminate it with a shovel if I could, but it would probably just keep coming back regardless. 😉